Dr. Bill explains why reading to young kids is so important Show Notes

If you have young children at home, are you reading to them on a regular basis? If not, it’s time to start!

Last week the nation's largest pediatricians' group said parents should read aloud to their children every day starting in infancy, to help with their language development and their future academic success.

CBS News reports that the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement in which they reminded parents that the first three years of life are a "critical time in child development. The AAP points out that during those years, children are building language, literacy, and social and emotional skills that will last a lifetime.

The Academy urged pediatricians to spread the message to parents of young children and to provide books to needy families.

They told their members to encourage parents to read to their kids, starting at a very young age, as that "can enhance parent-child relationships and prepare young minds to learn language and early literacy skills.”

To help promote reading, the doctors' group is teaming up with the Clinton Foundation's Too Small to Fail program, children's book publisher Scholastics, and a group called Reach out and Read. That nonprofit group works with doctors and hospitals to distribute books and encourage early reading.

By the way, if you’re a dad, make sure you’re not leaving the reading to mom. Research shows that boys who are read to by their fathers scored significantly higher in reading achievement.

Also, if a dad enjoys reading and reads for fun, it’s likely his kids will do the same, and score higher on achievement tests when they enter elementary school.